The Nigerian economy might experience a further backsliding after the elections, if a recent report by international rating agency Standard & Poor (S&P) is anything to go by. The agency evaluated Nigeria based on its six main categories and found that the economy was weak in three of them namely institutional and governance effectiveness; economic structure and growth; as well as fiscal flexibility and performance. According to S&P, the factors putting the Nigerian economy in danger include the Boko Haram insurgency, fall in oil prices, because of the importance of oil for government and export revenues, as well as the general elections.

While the fight against insurgency and the fall in global oil prices may not be new, the extravagant spending by politicians for elections campaigns and rallies has become a major concern to economic stakeholders. Politicians especially from the two major political parties in the country have indulged in various kinds of strategies in ensuring their candidates and parties win elections. As a matter of fact, billions of naira has been spent by politicians in a bid to woo electorates to their side on elections day. This is despite the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) warning and the threat to sanction presidential aspirants that spend above N1billion on campaign.

Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu said “According to section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended, the maximum expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall be N1 billion; for governorship, it is N200 million and the act also stipulates sanctions for candidate who flaunted the campaign spending limits. With this act, it is either the electoral body couldn’t track the spending of politicians or decided to look away from an obvious electoral offence. Nonsense was made of this particular provision when a gathering of ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members and supporters donated a whooping N21billion for the re-election bid of their Presidential candidate, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The donations came from various sectors of the economy like Oil and Gas, where the nation continues to struggle with sporadic fuel scarcity, the power sector whose privatization has yielded little or no benefit to the citizens and other leading areas like Banking, Transport and Aviation, Food and Agriculture and the likes.

The unrestrained spending continued earlier this year, after the Governor of Rivers State, Romiti Amaechi alleged that, President Goodluck Jonathan gave the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) a whooping N6 billion as bribe for election. Even though the CAN leadership denied this allegation, it was later confirmed by a Borno-based Pastor Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, who said that the money that was given to pastors by the President was actually N7 billion.

Lately, there were also media reports that, the traditional ruler of a prominent South-West ancient city, which the President visited was said to have been given $250,000 (N50m) while other traditional chiefs were given $10, 000 (N2.2m). A prominent lawyer, who spoke to the press in confidence, alleged that each of the paramount rulers received about $250,000 (about N50m). He, however, added that some of the senior Obas were expected to share the largesse with their subordinate Obas and chiefs. Another member of a popular Yoruba group that visited Jonathan in Lagos said his group received $50,000.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, he said, “We were given $50,000 when we finished meeting the President; but to my surprise, our leader gave me only $500.”

This is just the notable ones not instigating the alleged distribution of millions of dollars by the Vice President Namadi Sambo in Kaduna few weeks back.  The Vice President was said to have supervised the sharing of millions of Naira to individuals and groups in the state with sole aim of ensuring that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari loses to President Goodluck Jonathan. Among those receiving the largesse are traditional rulers, religious clerics and prominent youth leaders. Sambo was also speculated to have distributed exotic cars to some senior citizens of the state.

The reason the naira has taken such a dramatic plunge over the last three or so months according to some bankers, is that politicians moped up the hard currency for elections.

The unbridled political spending may already be taking its toll on the ability of some states to pay salaries of their workers. This is further compounded by the dwindling revenue to the states from the federation account. Revenue accruing to states has reduced drastically in recent months as a result over 50 percent fall in price of crude occasioned by glut in the international oil market. A media report also suggested that, some of the states have been diverting funds meant to pay salaries to fund the re-election of their governors, as findings shows that some states owe their workers up to five months’ salary.

The Benue State Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Simon Anchaver, who made the allegation said the administration of Governor Gabriel Suswam is indebted to civil servants for between four to five months in salary arrears.

The tale is the same in Ondo State, one of the oil producing states that collect the 13 percent derivation along with its statutory shares from the federation account. The state government is said to owe its workers for the month of February. It was gathered that the development affects all ministries, directorates, agencies and local governments in the state. Findings also show that the situation in Oyo State is not different as the state government owes workers in all the ministries and agencies February salary after paying the January salary recently. In Osun State, workers had to embark on street protest in Osogbo the state capital over unpaid salaries, which they claimed was already five months in arrears.

In Imo, the state government is said to owe its workers two months salaries as Governor Rochas Okorocha recently said during an interaction with newsmen that he had paid the December salaries of workers in the state. In Ekiti State, public workers, including teachers are being owed salaries for the month of September last year. Even though Governor Ayodele Fayose has repeatedly said the workers would be paid the outstanding salaries which his administration inherited from the immediate past administration, it is known that he has spent fortunes on political advertorials for his party’s presidential candidate.

This scenario has brought about palpable fears that the nation’s post-election period may come with massive retrenchment of staff from various sectors of the economy.

Also, there were allegations that many of the government agencies and departments were still being owed months of salaries as they were left to fend for themselves through Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).